hackszine
Jason wrote up a great follow-up article, Investment Spreadhsheet 2.0, to his original post, The FU Money Spreadsheet, over at Hackszine. Some added features to the FU Money Calculator 2.0 are fields for accounting for your 401k contributions and a home loan.
 Jason describes 3 scenarios in which normal people like you and I can become "wealthy be being excessive in our frugality."
Previously:
The FU Money Spreadsheet (post on Blogcadre)
Update: Jason has made improvements to the spreadsheet, Investment Spreadsheet 2.0. It now includes fields for home loans and 401(k) contributions.
Jason over @ Hackszine writes:
If you're a Cryptonomicon fan, you might recall uber-hacker Randy Waterouse's business partner, Avi, who had a spreadsheet which tracked a particularly interesting value.
The subject heading of Avi's first message is: ``Guideline 1.''
We look for places where the math is right. Meaning what? Meaning that pop. is about to explode---we can predict that just by looking at age histogram---and per capita income is about to take off the way it did in Nippon, Taiwan, Singapore. Multiply those two things together and you get the kind of exponential growth that should get us all into fuck-you money before we turn forty.
 Jason over @ Hackszine writes:
Have you ever needed a D battery in a pinch, but could only find Cs? Since AAA, AA, C, and D batteries are all 1.5 volt cells, they are electronically interchangeable. They differ only in physical size and energy storage capacity. So, if you're in a pinch, you can cobble together an adapter with a few quarters or other suitable conductive material.
Even a 9-volt battery is made up of 6 1.5 volt cells, which are a bit smaller than a AAA (they are actually called AAAAs!). This could come in handy if all you can find is a 9 volt and you really need a AAA for your TV remote... You'll just have to spend some time cracking open the 9 volt case with a pair of pliers to get at the little cells inside.
Quick hack: The $1 C-to-D adapter -Link
9 volt to AAA conversion - Link
 Jason over at Hackszine writes:
According to the completely authoritative sources of youtube and metacafe, you can extend the range of your car remote by holding the remote to your head. It's easy enough to test, and if it works it could come in handy for finding your car in the parking lot. So far, I've found two videos demonstrating the hack, and both use a slightly different method.
In one method you simply touch the remote to your noggin - Link.
In the other video, a more sophisticated open mouth, below the chin technique is used - Link.
I'm guessing that your head is acting as a crude directional antenna, but if you know more about how this works, let us know in the comments.
 Jason and I are heading to San Francisco this weekend, May 19 and 20, for Maker Faire at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. Jason will be representing Hackszine.com over at the O'Reilly Hacks booth for an hour each day so be sure to stop by and say hello if you are going to be at the Faire.
We'll be scoping out the various Makers throughout those two days and posting the highlights, here, on BlogCadre. Be sure to check back over the weekend!
If you're unfamiliar with Maker Faire check out the Faire's main website and see what's happening at this DIY extravaganza. 400 Makers will be there as well as an expected 40,000 attendees.
Related:
Phillip and Bre from Make on Rocketboom [via meshly]
 Jason @ Hackszine writes:
One thing that discourages people from using a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation is that it's a little undesireable to show up to school or work sweaty. In hilly cities, riders are forced to heavily exert themselves during a typical commute, pretty much guaranteeing perspiration and discouraging bicycle use.
Jarle Wanvik, an avid bicyclist in Trondheim Norway, was able to solve this problem with his bicycle lift invention, a cable driven stepping-pad that pushes bicyclists up a steep hill that lies between Trondheim's city center and the University. Though this prototype hasn't been duplicated anywhere else, it's an awfully clever hack that addresses the very real problem of encouraging human-powered urban transportation.
The Bicycle Life: Sustainable Urban Transport - Link.
Need to find a last minute gift for your Valentine and need a creative way to say "I love you"?
Head over to geoGreeting and type in your message of love. geoGreeting finds buildings in the shape of the letters you type in. Click the 'heart' icon and get an island in the shape of a heart.
[via Hackszine]
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Jason is working at the Hackszine booth this weekend promoting 
